'I've Never Heard of Someone Flying Into a Home Before'

A training exercise for two Special Forces paratroopers went awry this week, sending them both into a North Carolina residential area instead of their intended drop zone 8 miles away. One of the paratroopers crashed into the roof of a Raeford home, in Hoke County, while the other landed in a different part of the neighborhood during the Tuesday accident, reports WRAL. One of the paratroopers was treated at the scene for minor injuries, while the one who slammed into the roof was hospitalized in critical but stable condition, says Army Maj. Rick Dickinson, a spokesman for Fort Bragg, per CNN.

One local, Will Jones, tells CNN he was driving home from work when he saw the paratroopers from the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) in the sky—not an uncommon sight so close to Fort Bragg. But then, "in the blink of an eye, I didn't see him," Jones said. "That's when I drove to the next street over and saw him in the middle of the street, bleeding with his parachute out." Bystanders rushed to help the soldiers until first responders arrived, with a witness telling WRAL that one of the paratroopers "was struggling to breathe."

"I've never heard of someone flying into a home before," Albertina McClain, who owns the house that one of the soldiers crashed into, tells CNN. After reports of wind in the area, WRAL queried Fort Bragg leaders on whether it had been too windy for training that day, with no response as of yet. CBS 17 reports this is just the latest training incident involving Fort Bragg soldiers: In April, some troops had to be treated for heat exhaustion. An investigation regarding the latest incident is ongoing, and training has been suspended for the time being. (Last year, a British paratrooper crashed through the roof of a California home and landed in the kitchen.)